


under wraps

by moxie_girl



Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Hybrids, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, How Do I Tag, Hybrid AU, Hybrids, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I can't add any more tags, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, I'm writing Lego fanfic now??, It would spoil it, M/M, No Beta we die like Zane every other season, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some pining, kinda cringey, the ship isnt central focus, vaguely canon-ish plot?, we shall see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28096044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxie_girl/pseuds/moxie_girl
Summary: Cole is hiding a secret from his new teammates. How long can he keep it under wraps?
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker, i apparently ship legos now??, ive been on this site too long
Comments: 30
Kudos: 65





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was possessed to write this. Don't ask.

Hybrids. The people of Ninjago hated them. It didn’t matter that they were just people with extra features. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t help being born like that. The ‘normal’ humans saw hybrids as monsters, inhuman creatures out for blood. It certainly didn’t help that the dreaded serpentine bore some resemblance to many snake hybrids. Hybrids faced discrimination and hatred wherever they went.

That was why Cole Brookstone, son of the famous Lou Brookstone of the Royal Blacksmiths, and, unknown to most, black bear hybrid, was climbing a mountain. Okay, so that wasn’t the only reason he was climbing the mountain, but. His father said he didn’t care what Cole looked like, but the fact that he made Cole wear a beanie to cover his ears whenever he left the house was pretty telling. And when his father shipped him off to dancing school, it was with strict instructions not to let anyone know about his… differences. So Cole ran off and started living on his own. He traveled around, making money off of strongman tricks and other things. Cole babysat, worked at restaurants, and even tried his hand at being a DJ. He didn’t stay anywhere for long, though. One town had already chased him out after a kid stole his hat and left his fluffy ears exposed in front of the whole town square. Cole wasn’t anxious for a repeat. 

Where was he? Oh, yeah, the mountain. When Cole heard about the tallest mountain in Ninjago, he figured he might give it a shot. Bears were natural climbers, after all, although he made sure to keep his ears and tail tucked away just in case. As the bear hybrid scrambled to the top, heaving, he spotted something rather unusual. Sitting a few feet away from him was an old man, with a white beard, holding a… teapot? How did he get that up there? The man turned to him.

“Please, sit. We have much to discuss.” Cole sat down awkwardly, deciding not to question the man in case he was like, a god or something. He  _ was  _ sitting at the top of the tallest mountain in Ninjago, drinking tea. The frail old man didn’t even look capable of climbing a ladder. “Now, would you like to tell me why you are climbing this mountain?” Cole, startled, turned to the man. It was a rather personal question from this stranger he had never met. But there was a sense of familiarity and warmth he felt from the old man as if he could trust him with anything. So he spilled. He told the man about his mother's death, going to the boarding school, running away, but mostly, he complained about how his dad acted after his mom’s death. He left out the part about being a hybrid. Cole couldn't trust him too much, but it felt good to get the weight off his shoulders. 

The old man nodded sagely. “Remember, everybody deals with grief differently. Some sing and dance, and others climb mountains.”

Suddenly feeling snarky, the hybrid shot back with, “Well, why’d  _ you _ climb this mountain?”

The man turned to him, shooting him with a piercing gaze. It felt as though he was looking into his soul. “To find you, Cole.” How did he…? “I believe you are destined for greatness. You possess powers the likes of which you cannot even imagine. I need your help to save the world.” Cole felt dizzy. He put his head in his hands.

“Me, destined for greatness? Hah. I’m just… I’m not…” Under his breath, he muttered, “I’m not even human.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.

“Being a hybrid does not make you any less human, Cole. You have far more humanity than those who look down upon others for circumstances that they cannot control.” He looked up and saw the old man standing over him. Apparently, he hadn’t mumbled that last bit as quietly as he thought. Cole gave him a hesitant smile.

“You really think so?”

“I know so. Now, are you in?”

Cole stood up. “Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this cringe? Should I keep writing this?  
> Also, does anyone have any better title suggestions?  
> Please let me know in the comments.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is almost twice as long as the last sorry.

The old man’s name was Sensei Wu, and he lived in a monastery on top of another nearby mountain. The monastery itself was pretty cool, a welcome change from the motels Cole was used to. It was also nice to be able to walk around with his ears and tail out. He and Sensei were currently the only two people living at the monastery. In the beginning, Cole had a hard time believing he could be safe, but now he was used to it. Sensei still hadn't told him much more about his mysterious destiny. Apparently, he still needed to recruit three more people before he could explain anything. In the meantime, Cole trained. He fell into a simple schedule, and before he knew it, Sensei had discovered the location of another member of their magic destiny team. 

Cole sighed. He would miss the freedom of the monastery when it was only him and Wu. Maybe later he could tell the rest of the group, but for now, it was best to keep hidden. He tucked his ears into his beanie just as a sequence of knocks rang out through the courtyard. He pulled open the door to see Wu and his new teammate. He was a teen about Cole’s age, and he immediately bounced over to him.

“Hi! I heard you’re my teammate! My name’s Jay! Jay Walker. I know, my parents think they’re funny. Do you know anything about this ‘destiny’ thing? Wu said…” The boy started rambling eagerly, as Cole looked him over. Jay was much smaller than Cole, petite and lithe. He had on an orange scarf and matching beanie, which was good. If Jay wore a beanie, Cole wouldn’t be as weird for wearing his all the time. The hair poking around the edges of his hat was curly, no, practically fluffy, and reddish-brown. His skin was lighter than Cole’s and splattered with freckles. And his eyes… They were the brightest blue Cole had ever seen, practically reflective in the light of the lanterns scattered throughout the courtyard. Suddenly, Cole realized Jay had stopped talking and was now staring at him. His cheeks burned.

“Oh! Sorry. I’m Cole.” Now is not the time to develop a crush on his new _human_ teammate, Cole!

“Nice to meetcha, Cole! How about a grand tour? Or at least, can you help me find my room? There were a _lot_ of stairs on the way up.” Jay yawned and held out an arm expectantly and Cole linked his arm with Jay’s, blood rushing to his cheeks. He led Jay through the monastery as Jay chattered on about a glider he had crashed into a billboard or something of the sort. Eventually, they reached the bedrooms.

“Here you are.” Cole detached his arm from Jay’s, a little hesitantly, as Jay walked in.

“Nice. I’m exhausted. See ya tomorrow.” Cole watched in amazement as he curled up on the bed, fully clothed, and instantly fell asleep, a little ball in the center of the bed. Praying that Jay actually fell asleep that fast, Cole draped a blanket over him before tip-toeing out and heading to his own room to sleep.

The next morning, Sensei was gone again, off to find another person, at least according to the note he left. As Cole poured himself some cereal, Jay walked in, still in the clothes from yesterday, rubbing at his head.

“You good?” The bear hybrid noticed Jay’s obvious discomfort.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Banged it on a bedpost.” Jay reached over and snagged the cereal before pouring himself a bowl.

“Do you want me to look at it?” Cole asked, concerned.

“No!” snapped Jay before calming down. “I mean, uh, no thanks, I’m good.” He reached up and tugged at his beanie as if to ensure it was still on. They fell into an awkward silence. Intending to train, Cole got up and dumped his bowl in the sink, but before he could leave, Jay grabbed his arm.

“Wait.” Fighting the blush out of his cheeks, Cole stopped and turned to him. “Can you show me how to like, train or whatever? Sensei said we should, right? I mean-” Cole cut him off before he could start rambling.

“Cmon.” He pulled Jay out to the courtyard and started rummaging through a trunk. Eventually, he pulled out two black training outfits, or gis, as Sensei called them. He turned to Jay. “Put this on. Meet me back out here in 5.” Cole went into his room and started changing. He pulled the hidden roll of gauze out of a drawer and began wrapping his tail as flat as he could get it. The hybrid considered himself lucky that his ears and tail were relatively small. They were easier to hide than wings, for example, or even a longer tail, which would twitch as if it had a mind of its own. Satisfied, Cole ripped off the end of the gauze and tucked the roll back under his socks. As long as you weren’t looking for a tail, the bump was unnoticeable. He pulled his hat back on and then the hood of his gi. Better safe than sorry, he decided, before he headed out to the courtyard.

As he walked out, he noticed that Jay already had his hood up and was investigating one of the training dummies. The gi was looser on him than it was on Cole, but it still clung to him, revealing muscles that had been previously hidden under a baggy sweater. 

“Hey!” Cole shouted across the yard. Startled, Jay jumped nearly a foot in the air, as if he’d been electrocuted, and let out a noise somewhere between a yell and, like, a hiss? 

“Did you just hiss at me?” Jay’s cheeks burned bright red.

“FSM! You scared me! I think I just got zapped!” He reached up and patted down the bits of hair sticking out from his gi, which were standing on end. Cole peeked at the dummy. He saw no exposed wires, still, who knew what those things were capable of?

Cole had just started to show Jay the basics of how the dummies worked when four loud knocks rang out through the courtyard. Jay flinched and put his hands to his head.

“You okay?” Cole reached out, but Jay leaned away from him.

“I’m fine. I... must’ve just hit my head harder than I thought.” They both pulled their hoods off and headed to the door. Cole noticed Jay had his beanie on under it too. A little odd, he mused, but then again, he was doing the same thing. As long as Jay wore it all the time, it would draw less suspicion to Cole doing it too. As they pulled the door open, Cole got the first glance of his third teammate. 

The first thing Cole noticed was that the man was tall, almost as tall as him. He wore a long winter coat that looked ill-fitting for the beating midday sun of the monastery. The man had pale skin and paler hair, and ice-blue eyes that looked cold and calculating. However, as Cole looked closer at his face, he realized that the man- no, teen, couldn’t have been much older than himself. The boy smiled and gave him an awkward little wave.

“Hello. I am Zane. You are my new teammates, correct?”

Cole opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Jay cut him off.

“Yes! Hi! I’m Jay, and this is Cole. Wow, you’re tall. Or maybe I’m just short. It’s a relative thing, I guess…” Jay continued chattering on to Zane, but Cole tuned it out. Jay was pretty cute when he was excited, eyes bright as he waved his hands about passionately. They had wandered into the courtyard now, and Jay was explaining how the practice dummies worked to an amused Zane. Cole let himself get distracted by the freckles that danced across Jay’s cheeks, and then by his lips, and- nope. Stopping that train of thought right now. He sighed and headed in to find something to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the ending it was getting too long.  
> Please comment it makes me happy!


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite as long, but here's 3!

Cole was really getting used to having Zane and Jay around. They were the first people he really felt he could be himself with. Well, not  _ actually  _ himself, but that was beside the point. Zane was great at cooking, and although he had some walls up, Cole soon discovered that he also told great jokes. He and Jay played video games together often, and Cole found himself slowly falling more in love. The three of them trained together, getting closer to each other every day.

Unfortunately, they were getting a little too close. Cole would have to tell them soon. If Zane and Jay found out on their own, they would surely be mad at him for keeping secrets. However, Cole wasn’t ready for the judgmental looks and whispers that would come once they knew. Also, if he even had a  _ sliver _ of a chance with Jay, he wouldn’t once Jay found out he was a hybrid. So Cole kept quiet. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. But good things never lasted for Cole, and it seemed like Jay and Zane were getting suspicious. He started noticing a few things which made it seem like they were getting close to finding out. 

Firstly, the nail clippings. Cole had to clip his nails almost every day to stop them from growing out into claws. One day, he found a few clippings on the floor of the bathroom he shared with Jay. This wouldn’t be unusual, except that he was sure that he had gotten all of them into the trash bin that morning. The only reason for them to be on the floor was if someone was rummaging through the trash and looking for them. This wasn’t good. He went to pick them up but decided he had better leave them. He didn’t want Jay to know that he knew Jay was catching on. Cole cut his nails in his room after that, and there were no more clippings on the floor. 

Second, the gauze. Cole kept a roll of gauze hidden in his sock drawer at all times. He used it to wrap his tail flat and hidden. Once, while walking past Zane’s room, he noticed something on his dresser. A roll of gauze. He could have sworn he left it in his room, but there it was. This was bad. If Zane had found the gauze, it would only be a matter of time before he put together the pieces. Before he could go in and take it back, though, he spotted Zane heading down the hall towards him. Cole pretended not to have seen it and walked away. That night, the roll on the dresser was gone, and his roll was back in his room.

Third, the stares. Especially from Jay. Cole had caught the freckled boy staring at him a few times, but there was one time that really sealed the deal. It was a hot day, and he had to train, so he had decided to risk it and wear a tank top. Cole had some fur on his arms, but it mostly looked like human hair. He hoped. Apparently not as much as he had hoped, because when he looked up after dismantling another dummy, Jay was standing in a doorway, staring at him. More specifically, staring at his arms. When Jay noticed he’d been caught, his cheeks turned red, and he vanished back inside the monastery.

There was no denying it now. Either Jay, Zane, or both of them knew, or at least, they were starting to put together the pieces. Cole figured he better fess up soon before one of them confronted him about it. It was better, to be honest. So, after a few days of hyping himself up about it, he decided to talk to Wu. 

“I’m going to do it, Sensei. I’m going to tell them.” He was sitting in front of Wu, sipping from a cup of calming tea. Thankfully, Wu didn’t seem mad that Cole had barged in on his meditation.

“A wise decision, Cole.” Sensei sipped from his own cup of tea. Cole was comforted, but there was one more thing he needed to ask.

“If they take it badly,” He hesitated. “If they don’t want me around anymore, promise you’ll find someone else to be a part of your great destiny, okay? Don’t force them to work with me if they don’t want to. I’ll just leave.” Wu smiled at him.

“Of course. I think you’ll be surprised, though. Don’t be so quick to assume the worst.” Cole laughed a bit at that. When had anyone  _ ever reacted  _ well to finding out someone they trusted was hiding a secret from them? And when had anyone ever responded well to finding out someone was a hybrid, either?

Cole spent the rest of the day in his room, hyping himself up to do it. He rehearsed what he was going to say in his head and prepared in case things went south. There was a packed backpack ready at the foot of his bed, in case he had to run. As Cole pondered the pros and cons of the situation, he could only hope Sensei was right. He was the one who recruited the three of them, after all, so he probably knew more about them than they did each other. 

As they sat down that night to eat, Cole realized bitterly that this was probably the last peaceful dinner they would have together. But Cole couldn’t put it off any longer. He cleared his throat and stood up.

“I… I have something to tell you guys, and I hope you won’t think differently of me after this, but…” He twisted his trembling hands around in front of him. He locked eyes with Wu across the table, and he gave Cole an encouraging nod. Steeling his nerves, he continued. “I understand if you guys want me to leave after this, but I hope you won’t, and…” He trailed off again. 

Jay was staring at the wall, eyes unfocused, and his breathing was quick and shallow. Cole suddenly remembered a night a few weeks ago, when he had been wandering around the monastery. He had stumbled across Jay in the game room, in the middle of what looked like a panic attack. Cole hugged him until he calmed down, and Jay had confessed to him about his anxiety. Cole had promised to do whatever he could to help.

He realized now that the way he was phrasing his speech was probably not helping, and Jay was likely panicking and assuming the worst. Although Cole doubted that his being a hybrid was even a possibility that went through the boy’s mind. But it was too late to back out now. 

Hands shaking, he reached up and pulled off his hat. The bear hybrid watched as their eyes traveled up his face to the two fluffy ears peeking out from his hair.

“I’m a hybrid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger. (not really tho)  
> Please let me know what you think in the comments!


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! My gift to you is the last chapter of under wraps!

Of all the reactions Cole expected, this was not it. He had been preparing for the worst-case scenario, and, honestly, he was just hoping he would be allowed to stay at the monastery. He didn’t think Jay would be outwardly unkind to him, but he doubted their dynamic would be the same as before. Jay seemed kind, but there were so few humans who treated hybrids the same as themselves. From Zane, he had no idea what to expect. The taller boy was more reserved with his emotions, so his response could be anything from quiet acceptance to trying to kill him. 

But that was not what came. There was a moment of stunned silence as his two teammates processed what he had just said, and then Jay shot to his feet. Cole winced, expecting the worst, but Jay’s face split into a huge smile.

“I can’t believe this! This is amazing! You've been a hybrid this whole time!” Cole furrowed his brows in confusion. How was being a hybrid… amazing? Why was Jay so excited? Oh, no. He hoped Jay wasn't one of the humans who thought being a hybrid was “ _so cool!”_ and wished they could be one. Trust him, it was not “ _so cool!”_. Or worse, maybe he was one of the scientist types, who wanted to study hybrids and find out what made them different. Cole knew Jay liked taking machines apart to see what made them tick, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch. 

But it was hard to be worried with Jay’s excited rambling and infectious grinning. Usually, when Jay was happy, his smiles were small and soft, but he was grinning so wide it revealed his sharp canines and… wait, what? He looked closer and, yeah, those were fangs. Jay had finally trailed off and apparently noticed Cole staring at him. 

“Oh, whoops. Lemme just...” Jay reached up and pulled off his own hat, exposing two triangular _ears_ perched on top of his curly hair. Cole’s brain stopped. 

Jay- he- what?- what?!?

_What?!?_

**_WHAT?!?_ **

The ears were smaller than Cole’s, light brown with pointed tips, and they moved and twitched in response to different sounds. Cat ears. The whole time he was worried about what Jay would think of him when really… Wow. How had he missed it? The clippings on their shared bathroom floor. The hissing when startled. The constant presence of the orange beanie. Cole was _really_ oblivious. 

Also, the ears made Jay even cuter, however that was possible. Cole briefly wondered what it would be like to touch them before quieting that part of his brain. Although, if they were both hybrids, maybe he did have a chance… Anyway. Back to the present.

“Are you really…?” It was almost too good to be true.

“Yep! Abyssinian cat. You?” Jay tilted his head at him, almost like an actual cat, and Cole had to fight down a blush. That was _unfairly_ cute.

“Black bear.” Jay nodded.

“I figured.” They sat in silence for a second before Cole spoke up again.

“I can’t believe-” He struggled to collect his thoughts “This whole time-”

“This makes it so much easier, huh?” Jay cut in, bouncing in his seat.

They both stopped as Zane cleared his throat. Wait, Zane! Cole was so focused on this new information he completely forgot about him. He wondered if this was when Zane told them he hated hybrids. Although, now that he thought about it, the hybrids outnumbered the non-hybrids, so if Zane was uncomfortable, he was the one who would have to leave. 

But Zane didn’t say anything like that. Instead, he turned to Wu as if for confirmation before standing up. He grabbed at the zipper of the coat he was almost always wearing (except for training, when he wore a sort of cape-thing (“Why does Zane get a cape? I want a cape!”)) and took a deep breath as if preparing himself. Then he pulled it off, and from behind him, previously covered by the coat, unfolded two huge brown-and-white wings. The falcon hybrid grinned sheepishly.

“Surprise?”

Jay dropped his fork and screeched.

“WHAT!!” Cole, dumbstruck, stood there for a second. Well, that explained the coat. This whole time, all three of them had been hiding from each other, when really all of them were hybrids. Struck with a sudden realization, he rounded on Sensei Wu.

“You knew! You knew all of this, and you had me here worrying they were going to- going to throw me out of the monastery or something! I can’t believe this!” Cole pointed an accusing finger, but he was on the brink of laughter. Jay started giggling, and that set all of them off. Soon, they were all practically rolling on the floor as Wu watched them, amusedly sipping his tea. Cole went to bed that night feeling happier than he had in a long time. 

**FIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who saw that plot twist coming? (Everyone. I'm about as subtle as a brick, I know.)  
> I feel like this is too short, but I can't rewrite it again.  
> Please drop a comment! It makes me happy.


End file.
